Posted November 8, 2012

Mathew Waterman as Hans the knight errant and Christina Dragnea as the water nymph Ondine

Event Information

Ondine

play by Jean Giraudoux adapted by Maurice Valency

Bloomington H.S. North

November 8, 9, 10 at 7:30 w. additional 2 pm matinee on the 10th

We gathered the director, and actor and a member of the technical crew around the phone to talk theatre.

Director Francesca Sobrer described the play. “It’s a beautiful play. The first act is very much a fairy tale. The second is very much a romantic fantasy. It totally changes with lots of wild things going on. There are a lot of fun things to do in the telling of the play. It appealed to the students’ sense of humor. Although, Ondine does become quite tragic at the end.”

Actor Grace Herndon said, “I’m always looking for opportunities. I didn’t know the play, but Mrs. Sobrer described the production as sort of The Princess Bride meets Monty Python. I said, ‘OK,’ because I connect with their sense of humor.” Herndon plays Eugenie. “She’s the water nymph Ondine’s sensible down to earth, mother.” Type casting? “I guess so,” she admits. “I see myself as a person who keeps every one grounded. I’m not flighty. Actually, I can see myself as Eugenie fifty of sixty years down the road. “

Stage manager Maria Halloran was our representative from the technical crew. She simply bubbles with enthusiasm about her role. “I think the job of stage manager is one of the most fun and most volatile jobs that you’ll get in the theatre,” she says. “You kind of make sure that everybody’s where they need to be and that everything is happening when it’s supposed to be happening. Sometimes these artistic types can be all over the place,” she dryly adds.

Halloran went on, “A production is a project, and like any other project certain organization things just need to happen. This is really great play. The process has been awesome. Seeing the actors getting their lines and then getting their characters has been awesome too. What I like about being a stage manager is the overall perspective and learning things about the theatre that most people just don’t know.”

While completing an M.A.T. degree in English at Indiana University, George Walker began announcing for WFIU in 1967. Along with regularly hosting classical music shows, he interviews artists and reviews plays and operas.

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